To Be Or Not To Be
by The Girl Who Ran Through Myst
Summary: William Herondale has been forced into two arranged marriages before, but both of them were broken off before he could 'tie the knot' once and for all, but will a young and pretty American 'gem' change all of this? Read and find out! All human!
1. Wonderful Gem

I sat on the edge of my bed, my hands knitted together nervously. "Father." I whispered, looking up. My father had the same features as me, bright blue eyes and raven black hair. That's the only thing we really had in common as our personalities were the complete opposite. I was what my sisters called 'fun loving' and 'sarcastic but flirty', my father was a workaholic, rarely at home.

"William." He said, placing a firm hand on my shoulder, causing me to wince slightly. "How come you are not ready for the ceremony?" He asked, regarding me with cold eyes.

"I am ready..." I said, looking down at myself. I wore a plain black and white suit with a blue tie. My shoes were pretty standard too, what I'd call 'formal'.

"That is your everyday attire!" My father released his grip on my shoulder and began to pace around the room. "Your meeting the woman your expected, well the woman who you _will_, court and you'll marry." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Father, courting is meant to be about.. Love. About being yourself and the other person loving you for it." I said. This was the third arranged marriage my parents had thrown me into. The first one had been with a young and pretty girl called Tatiana Lightwood.

We'd hit it off, pretty much. We were all 'loved up' and such, until Tatiana's brother Gabriel got back to England. Trust me, if I would have known Tatiana was related to that... Worm I wouldn't have even glanced at her until the wedding, and then I'd run away at the altar.

Then there was Jessamine Lovelace.

Oh my. Jessamine. Jessie was like a younger sister or a cousin to me, definitely not marriage material for me. She had outrageously big blonde hair which was always too perfect to be true. I love Jessie as a cousin, we've grown up together, but as a wife? That does not compute. I had to insult her in public to get that wedding called off.

Now, I was expected to marry a girl who was a year or two younger than myself. I'd never met this girl, but apparently her father and my father were 'overseas associates' and they'd planned on having us marry to create a 'connection' in the companies. What bull.

"William I have explained what this means to us. What it means for our entire family, not to mention the company! Just think. The profits will soar with you as the poster boy, and her as our cover girl." He had a dreamy and far away look in his eyes.

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

My father slapped me on my back smiling, "Hey, one day you'll thank me when you have three or four stunning children running about and then they'll be the cover children! Oh William." He smiled.

I forced a smile, "Well father, that is thinking forward. Shall we go and meet the girl?" I asked, fiddling with the cuffs on my suit nervously.

"Yes, my dear boy, we shall." I suppressed a sigh and forced another smile onto my face as I stood up. My father was beaming at me. "I'll go down now, you can have five minutes to prepare. By prepare I mean practise what you are going to say, or just practise being polite. It'll pay off."

And with that, my father left the room, just leaving me and my thoughts for a few more moments alone.

I leaned against one of my bed posts and ran my fingers along the cover of a book I was reading. _A Tale Of Two Cities._ I hoped the girl could read and write, and I prayed that I would be lucky enough to have a wife that shared my love for novels. Even if the woman was ugly, I'd consider her the most beautiful woman alive if she shared my love for books.

"Will!" My sister Ella was peaking at me from around the side of the door.

"Ella." I smiled, "How's everything with you?" I asked her. Ella was my older sister. She was a great influence on me, and she had what me and my best friend could only describe as quality. She was so kind hearted to everyone and everything around her, it made me look bad.

"Everything with me is great!" Ella was smiling widely at me, "How about you? Your new bride to be is a stunner. Cece doesn't like her, but just ignore her. The girls a natural beauty and I'm sure you'll adore her."

"Like you then." I said, winking at her. "Ella I'm not sure why you haven't found a husband yet, there's over ten men in this town vying for your hand in marriage."

"I have found a husband.. I found my.. Match." Ella smiled faintly for a second, "But he isn't a man I could go for. Not ever." She closed her eyes slightly, exhaling. I touched her hand.

"Don't worry sis. Love is love. It's mutual-"

I was cut off by a yell, "And my son William is on his way down stairs now!" My father.

Ella smiled at me and touched my arm. "Don't worry about my love affairs, worry about your own. If you mess this up, I'll kill you and marry the first scally on the street! Or I'll just marry Gabriel." She laughed and pushed me out of my room.

I swallowed, placed a large fake smile on my face and braced myself to meet this 'wonderful gem'.

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_**Hey guys, I hope you liked this. It's all human, incase you didn't know xDD **_

_**I'll try and get a update schedule made and I'll post it on my profile. Thanks for reading!**_

_**Please review! **_

_**If I get more than five reviews, I'll update quick!**_

_**~ Clare x **_


	2. You May Open Your Eyes

I slowly walked down the steps to my fathers study, anxiously playing with my tie and trying desperately to bide as much time as I could before I had to meet the girl. I paused outside the door too the study, straining my ears to try and hear to girls voice. "Come on.." I murmured under my breath, "Just breathe and go in there, she's probably as nervous as you."

I heard my father clear his throat loudly, "I apologise Mr and Miss Gray, my son does not appreciate the values of time, as he wastes it. He should be here any moment now." My father's tone of voice was smooth, I could tell he'd planned what he was going to say in advance and learnt it.

"It's alright Mr Herondale, William will be a fine suitor for my sister. She doesn't like the organised and collected men anyway, do you Tessie?" I guessed that that was Mr Gray. I had assumed the girl had come with her father, but according to what I'd just heard, this was her older brother? Well then.

A few more words were exchanged between my father and Mr Gray before I decided to enter the room.

"Ah, here he is." My father had a big fake smile on his face as I entered the room. "The guest of honour." The corner of my mouth twitched slightly, my father was always a charmer. "William, I would like you to meet Miss Tessa Gray."

I turned around and sucked in a breath.

The girl was looking at the floor, smiling slightly, "Hello William." She said quietly, not looking up.

"Call me Will. Pleased to meet you Miss Gray." I flashed her a dashing smile and kissed her hand gently before dropping it. The girl looked up and her eyes met mine, causing my heart to ache slightly. Her eyes were a beautiful colour - it was like they couldn't decide if they wanted to be blue, like mine, or silver like my friends.

"Please, call me Tessa." The girl had a blush on her face which made her look absolutely adorable, and even more beautiful than before.

"Alright then, Tessa." I said, still smiling.

Mr Gray looked at my father grinning like a idiot. He had green eyes and sandy blonde hair which instantly reminded me of Gabriel and Tatiana's older brother - Gideon. Gideon was a nice guy, easy to get along with. The total opposite of Gabriel who was like the devils spawn. "Mr Herondale, I think we ought to tell these two what we have in store for them."

My father's smile had gone from fake to incredibly uneasy. "Ah. Yes." He looked at me, "As of now, you two are courting. We expect you to be engaged in four weeks and married within months. To the public, you must act like you were childhood sweethearts-"

"But she's from America!" I exclaimed, "How on earth do you expect that to work?" My father supressed a sigh.

"You work your charm William." He said, "Mr Gray has assured me that Miss Tessa knows how to work a crowd, plus the public are easy too fool. We've done it several times before William."

Mr Gray nodded, smiling. "Tessie knows her duty. She'll be willing to serve you in anyway, shape or form." Tessa flinched at that. "We have booked you two a place at a.. hotel. It's called the institute and it is run by one of my fathers old friends, Henry Branwell."

"The institute is a luxurious place for young lovers to spend months together getting to know each other before the wedding. James is going to be there too, William. I'm sure you three will have excellent fun, bonding." My father purred. "You will be sent to the institute at dawn, so go and get some shut eye."

I nodded and made for the door, before being stopped by my father who was smirking, "William, I expect you to make use of your double bed tonight." I froze.

My father was such a sick idiot!

"Y-yes father." I murmured, before looking at Miss Gray, "My room is this way." I said, opening the door for her.

* * *

Once Miss Gray and I had got to my room, I heard the door shut and be locked behind us, causing Miss Gray too flinch.

I sighed and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry." She whispered, sticking close to the wall like a frightened animal would. Her eyes were wide and innocent. "I cannot.. I cannot do what they intend me to do. I've known you for five minutes..." She trailed off.

She stayed by the wall for a few more moments before sighing, "Do you want to do it?" She whispered.

I shook my head, "I'm a flirt but I do have morals." I said. "I won't put a lady through anything she disapproves of." Miss Gray exhaled and came and sat next to me on the bed. "You can borrow one of my shirts to sleep in, as it appears that you have nothing else to wear."

She nodded, "Thank you."

I shrugged, "What did you expect of me?" I asked, moving to my closet and pulling a baggy shirt out and tossing it at her.

She paused, "I expected you to be like my brother.." She grabbed the shirt and stood up, "I expected you to be a hard and cold man, closed off and willing to screw the first woman in sight. That's what your father basically told Nate over the phone." Miss Gray had collected the shirt and folded it neatly over her arm, "Would you be so kind to cover your eyes?" She asked, shrugging off her dress.

I chuckled and did so, "Yes ma'am." This girl was very different to all the girls in London. I could see why Ella was so fond of her. "So your brother - Mr Gray, his names Nate? Short for Nathan?" I asked, my eyes still covered.

"Nathanael." She corrected. I heard a quiet thud and her dress hit the floor. "Nathanael Gray."

"And yours is Tessa?"

"Teresa." She corrected again. "I just think that names a bit.. old." She smiled slightly, "You may open your eyes."

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_**Mwah. Hello my dears! **_

_**Thank you for the four reviews I got in the past 24 hours! **_

_**I do love my reviewers, so I'll credit them. Thank you to: I Love Will Herondale, bow down to me peasants, foolishmundanes and Guest xD **_

_**I keep forgetting to put a disclaimer so here it is.**_

_**Disclaimer - I do not own the rights to these characters and what not.**_

_**Badaboom. **_

_**Review, you'll get cookies!**_

_**~Clare**_


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